On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will submit its proposals for a security dialogue with the U.S. a week after his call with President Joe Biden amid Western concerns about a Russian military buildup near the Ukrainian border, says AP News.
Putin reaffirmed his denial of planning to attack Ukraine but said that Moscow can’t remain indifferent to NATO’s possible expansion to its neighbor. “Russia will prepare its arguments literally in a few days, within a week, and we will submit it to the American side for consideration,” he said. This comes after Putin and Biden had a two-hour conversation through a video call which Putin described as being “very open, specific and I would say constructive.”
“We have an opportunity to continue this dialogue, which I think is the most important thing,” Putin said to reporters after talks in Sochi with visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to AP News. The conversation between the two leaders was especially important for Biden’s presidency and it came at a perilous time. According to AP, U.S. intelligence officials determined that Russia has moved 70,000 troops near the Ukraine border and has made preparations for a possible invasion early next year.
Moscow denies this though, claiming Western concerns to be a part of a campaign to smear Russia.
Biden delivered a simple message to Putin: if you invade Ukraine again, you will face painful sanctions that will surely hurt your economy. Putin’s response: “the Russian troops are on their own territory and they don’t harm anyone,” says Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.
